Bonds
by Allura1996
Summary: ItaPan. For my friend, Meghan. I would put a summery, but that would be kind of spoiling it, right?


"Hey, What's that Japan~?" Italy asked, looking over The other's shoulder. Japan nearly jumped out of his seat because of Italy's sudden voice. Why the country came over to visit, he had no clue. Maybe Germany wanted him to visit others for once. Either way, he was here now, and Japan didn't have the heart to tell the other to leave. He looked up at Italy.  
"It's a book about myths and legends. I thought it would be interesting to read." He said softly. Italy smiled and sat down next to him. "Wow, sounds pretty cool! Hm, what's that one?" He asked, pointing to a legend that had a picture of a red string. Japan skimmed through it. It was only two, perhaps three, paragraphs long.  
"Oh, this one is about a string that tests one's bond with another-"  
"Really? That sounds cool~! Let's try it and see if it's true~!" Italy interrupted. Japan sighed. He was about to say that it tests the bonds of two people who are really close and the string will move and create a symbolic shape, explaining what would happen in the future. This kind of legend normally takes place with a couple or newly-weds, but (once more) Japan didn't have the heart to tell the Italian. Besides, it probably didn't matter. He would probably ignore that fact and go to look for the string anyway. He went back to his reading.  
Italy had left the room to look for the string. He didn't know why, but that little legend seemed very interesting to him. He knew Japan for a while, so he wanted to know how their bond was. He found a red cloth that had a loose red string on it. He smiled and tugged the string until it finally snapped off. His smile grew as he made his way back to Japan.

"Hey Japan~! I found one!" Italy beamed as he plopped down next to Japan. 'Kami!' Japan thought as once again jumped from Italy's sudden voice. Slowly, he put the book down and looked over at the other. Already, he had tied one end of the string to his finger, as shown in the picture. "Here, aren't you supposed to tie the other end to your finger too?" Japan nodded.  
"Hai." He said simply. He picked up one end of the string and tried to tie it around his finger. The knot ended up being loose and messy. Italy tilted his head. "Ve, do you need any help?" He asked, but before Japan could answer, he already, began fixing the knot. Japan flinched, not expecting this. Then again, with Italy, he shouldn't have let his guard down. "I-Italia!-kun" He yelped. Italy jumped back.  
"What? What? Is it too tight?!" No. It wasn't. Japan still needed to get used to other people touching him, but still... "N... No." Japan muttered. Italy's smile returned. "Okie-dokie! So, what now?" He asked.  
" Well... I think we're supposed to wait overnight." Japan explained. Italy nodded. "Okay then, I'll just call Romano and tell him I'll stay over!"  
"Hai, I'll go make some onigiri." Before the two could split, the string that bond them caught and they couldn't take another step forward. "Uh... Let's call your oniisan first. That's more important."

Twilight had fallen. Italy slept peacefully on the floor beside the table and next to Japan. Japan, however, stayed awake. It was too early to go to sleep and if he fell asleep now his sleeping schedule would be all messed up. He began going back to his sketches, which he had been working on for a while now. Then, in the middle of sketching, he began to wonder what shape the string would be. A circle? No, that can't be it. Circles symbolise a lot of things. Maybe... He turned to look at the string. He swore he could hear something in his head snap as his mouth hung open in disbelief. The string was still there, of course, but the shape threw him off. A heart. He didn't want to move it, but he didn't want Italy to see this either. What would he do anyway?  
"Mm..." Japan turned his attention to the sleeping Italian. He had stirred a bit, turning onto his back and his expression looked a little more troubled. A bad dream? It didn't seem to bad, or he would've- "N- No, Japan!"  
"Gwah-!" Japan fell back as Italy lunged at him, eyes tearing up. His first instinct was to push him away, but this looked bad... It had to be a really bad dream if Italia-kun would act like this... "I-Italy... Are you...?  
"It was really scarey! You, me, Germany and others were all locked up in this house and there was a monster an-and-and-!" Italy continued to sob, wrapping his arms tighter around the other. Japan winced, but didn't push him off. It really sounded like a bad, no, horrible dream. But that's what it all was- a dream. He sighed and gently nudged Italy's shoulder. Italy let go, looking up at him.  
"Italia-kun. It was only a dream. You know if we were locked up, we could find a way to get out." He assured. "Bu-But, the monster-!"  
"We would make sure it wouldn't harm any of us. Now, please, go back to sleep." Silence filled the air now. It wasn't tense, no it wasn't that, but it still felt... Weird. Then, Japan remembered, the string. Before he could do anything about that however, Italy hugged him once more. He held back a groan of displeasement.  
"Grazi Japan, I feel a little better now!" He chimed. Good, back to his normal self... "Eh? Hey, Japan, did you see the string?" Italy asked. Japan's face flushed. Oh no...

By the time morning came, Japan had slept in later than usual. Thanks to Italy anyway... He had also thrown the string away, so he could go to sleep on his own bed. "I'd better get going before Romano gets mad at me~!" Italy said, heading to the door.  
"Hai. Oh, nee, do you want to take some onigiri with you?" Japan asked. "Oh, graci Japan, I almost forgot!" He could hear the Italian's footsteps head off into the kitchen. He let out a breath and returned reading the myth book that he was reading yesterday. It didn't say what shapes that the string would make represented. Still though, he couldn't help but to wonder... He shut the book, seeing that he was going nowhere, and rubbed his eyes. Kami, why did he go to bed so late? "Hey, Japan! Before I forget...!" He heard the Italian say. He sighed and looked up, only to feel something press against his cheek. Japan's face flushed once more and his heart raced. Wha...?  
"Bye Japan~! I'll see you later okay~?" Italy chimed before heading out the door. Leaving the other sitting there, stunned. He had no idea why Italy kissed him, nor why he should. He stood, the red in his face fading away, and retrieved the red string. "... Maybe I'll keep this after all..."

**A/N: So, this is my first Hetalia fic, for a friend of mine. I hope you like it Meghan! ^^ Anyway, I hope they were all in character. Hope you like! :3**


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